


The Sky's The Limit

by CoopPenny



Series: Tony's not... Normal [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Afghanistan, Attempted Kidnapping, Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Avengers are clueless, Bruce Is a Good Bro, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Hydra (Marvel), Hydra experiments, Kidnapping, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, Past Torture, Recovery, SECRETS!!!, Tony Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony-centric, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-07-16 00:23:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7244731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoopPenny/pseuds/CoopPenny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony's held a great secret since Afghanistan and he intends to keep it till the day he dies but it gets increasingly harder when your forced to live with spies and super soldiers. Especially with Natasha popping out of practically no where asking dozens of questions about his Three YEARS in the Ten Rings clutches.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What happened?

**Author's Note:**

> New story!!  
> Been thinking about this for a while so here it is!! TA DA!!  
> I hope you enjoy this!

He didn't know how long he'd been walking for but it felt like he'd been at it for days. The sun was relentless as it seemed to unleash all of it's heat down on his vulnerable shoulders and arms giving them the feeling of burning and fire, his make-shift hood gave him no relief. His mouth felt dry, his chest ached from the new scars and his right arm throbbed from the jagged cuts, that he got from his awkward landing in his escape, were beginning to show signs of infection.

In the blistering heat, Tony could do nothing about his racing thoughts that jumped from one thing to another. He couldn't quell the internal battle as his thoughts instantly went to those that he didn't want to deal with. Like his destructive creations. Like the new decoration in his chest. Like Yinsen. A man that saved his life twice and had died in the process.

There was a stab of pain in his chest at the thought of the other man. The man that he had grown used to. The man that had stopped him from going half crazy. The man that sat with him for hours, speaking softly to him as he calmed down form the terrorists latest _persuasive_ session. He had liked Yinsen and he liked very few people. It had practically destroyed Tony when the man breathed out for the last time, giving him one last bout of wisdom. 

" _Don't waste your life._ "

Now, he was going to die in this dessert and die with the fact that he never got to make something of his life. He was never going to be able to prove--

Tony's depressed thoughts came to a grinding halt as he heard the engine of a helicopter in the distance.

"Oh thank fuck." Tony breathed as the helicopter was preparing to land right in front of him. The swift blades made the loose sand fly around in a spiral motion, making him wince when it started to grate on his wounded arm even more than it had been. It didn't matter. He couldn't resist the huge grin that over took his face at the thought of Rhodey jumping out of the 'copter and giving him the biggest bro hug of history. He'd had so many fantasies about it already and he was more than happy that it was about to become true.

Only, it wasn't Rhodey that jumped out of the 'copter. It was a man dressed all in black and had long brown hair aiming a gun straight at Tony.

Life just wasn't fair, was it?

The man fired without a moments hesitation and Tony was briefly aware that it wasn't a bullet that hit him before total darkness enveloped him.

 

\----------

 

 

He didn't know where he was or how he got there but he knows that he's not in the cave anymore and this place has the potential to be a lot worse.

He'd just woken up in the brightly lit room, blinded by the sudden brightness when he came to but he easily forgot about the sting of his eyes when he realised that he was restrained to a bed, face-down with an IV or something stabbed into his arm.

Next, he attempted to lift his head but gave up and cursed loudly when he felt a wave of nausea hit him. It took all of his self control to not throw up.

Tony's head was throbbing and his whole body ached like no tomorrow but what hurt worse was his back. It felt so tender that the slightest jostle would make him dizzy and on the edge to passing out.

The worst thing was that, he was alone. There was no Yinsen this time around, no hope of a helping hand. He had no idea what these people wanted and no idea who these people were. He was absolutely clueless as to what the current situation was for him and was at a clear disadvantage in his area. The only thing he could really do was lay there and keep calm.

It must had been a few hours before he heard a door to his right creek open and he heard someone enter the room.

"Good afternoon, Mr.Stark." a cheery voice echoed.

Tony said nothing for a while and neither did the other guy. The silence stretched out and it became too much for Tony to hold back as he blurted, "Who are you?"

The guys footsteps came closer to Tony but he had no idea how close he was before he felt a clod hand run down the length of his spine making him jump. "My name is of no importance to you." he replied all too smugly, "But you serve a great purpose here, Mr.Stark."

Tony could feel the blood drain from his face at the tone of the man's voice. The guy sounded just short of crazy and that wasn't a good thing in any situation. "People will find me," he declared, voice betraying none of the unease he was feeling, "They'll know I escaped the Ten Rings and that I've been taken by another."

Much to Tony's surprise, the man chuckled. Like it was some inside joke. "No they wont. You see, Mr.Stark, the US air force will find a blown up terrorist base with the evidence that you were there and never made it out. They will say that you died in that explosion and the search will end. The world will mourn and move on and you will be a dead man to society." the man explained in a bright tone and seemed oblivious of Tony's world crumbling around him.

"So you see, Mr.Stark, no one is looking for you. You have no one and are no one. You belong to us now." The man whispered in Tony's ear, way too close for comfort.

The small curl of dread had grown so big now that it was physically starting to hurt but because he had no brain to mouth filter he said with disgust in his voice, "One, I will never belong to you. Two, who is 'us'? And three, what makes you thing that I wont be able to blow your crazy ass up as soon as you let your guard down?"

"I'd be careful if I were you, Mr.Stark" he tapped Tony's now infected shoulder, which made Tony wince from the pain, "You might just loose this." The man then straightened up and walked to the door. It opened but before the man left, he said "You belong to HYDRA now." and left Tony to his mini melt-down.

Fuck!

HYDRA?! Seriously?

No, that couldn't be right...

They were destroyed in World War 2...

Weren't they?

 

\----------

 

It was official, HYDRA was way worse than the Ten Rings.

With the Ten Rings Tony had a chance. Those guys were absolute idiots that underestimated their prisoners and they unknowingly gave him the equipment to escape. They wanted something _from_ him. HYDRA on the other hand didn't want his expertise. Didn't want his money or his company. They just wanted him. And that was worse than what the Ten Rings wanted.

They only required him to lay there on his front while they did their business. They came in to his room at least four times a day. The nurses made no move to communicate (no matter how much he talked) as their cold hands checked his restraints and pocked his infected shoulder painfully which was now an angry swollen area. The bastards weren't trying to help him, they were letting it get farther infected, making him enter a fever induced sate so he could hardly put a sting of words together. The nurses would attack his already painfully tender back with needles full of unknown and most likely dangerous fluids.

Every time they came, they'd ignore his feverish traits and inject five fluids into his back, four in his shoulder blades and one in his lower back. The IV would be changed everyday.

Tony never felt hungry or in any need to go to the toilet but he'd always draw it up to 'fuckin' HYDRA'.

The days were starting to blur together and he found it hard to separate what was real and what wasn't.

It was around a month later that the man that visited him when he first woke up came by again.

The man hissed in mock sympathy as his fingers brushed over the puffy, red wounds down his shoulder, "I'm ever so sorry Mr.Stark but it looks like you'll have to have this removed. I'm afraid you've felt it far too long. And we've got a team of experts that has found a substitute for your little magnet. Don't want you dying on us, now do we?"

If Tony wasn't tied down and on the brink of death, he would have killed that man.

The man was now tutting at the black lines that had made it's way from his reactor and was spreading. He'd heard some of the nurses murmuring about it. It was metal poisoning and if they didn't find a cure then he would die.

"How does a two in one surgery sound?" the man said cheerfully while patting Tony's infected shoulder which sent another jolt of pain through the genius.

"You so' o' a bitch. 'll k'll 'ou." Tony slurred.

The man hummed in a thoughtful way then he clicked his fingers to exaggerate that he had a 'good idea', "It'd be such a shame if something went wrong in the surgery and they accidentally clipped your vocal cords wouldn't it?"

At the man's words Tony went deathly still. They wouldn't, would they?

A sinister chuckle filled the room as the man said to someone else, "Prep him for surgery."

That was the last thing he heard before he felt a prick in his arm and started to slip into darkness once again.

 


	2. What we are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2nd chapter has arrived!!  
> It's a bit like a summary of Tony's time, so could be a little boring....  
> Anyway, hope you enjoy it!!

Tony didn't know how long he'd been out but when he woke up, he was in agony.

Pain pulsed around his body like a living circuit. He didn't know what was up or down, left or right. All he could feel was the constant throb of pain that emitted everywhere from his body.

But he didn't pass out again. He _wouldn't_. God knows how long he'd been unconscious for and what the sick bastards had done to him while he was out. He didn't want them touching him end of, let alone without him _knowing_.

It took him a while to figure out that he was not alone but when he did, he got the feeling of someone stroking him... some other part of him... he didn't know what the intruder was stroking but he could feel it...

What did these son of a bitches do to him?!

As he was having a miniature freak out, the man continued to stroke absentmindedly. It wasn't until the man's fingers started to trace something on Tony's ribs did he come back to himself and flinch away from the offending hand.

It didn't work.

It's not that it didn't work because the man would follow Tony's limited movements but the fact that Tony couldn't move even more so than before. He could feel it now, the extra straps that crossed over his limbs, his back, his neck and he could feel chains restricting Tony's movement of his new... appendages.

"I see you are finally awake." the man said, still tracing something on his ribs.

"What the fuck did you do to me?" Tony tried command, his voice coming out in a rasp.

"Hmm... That is where you are wrong. It is not what we did to you but _for_ you." the asshole corrected.

Tony didn't reply, he know what that meant. They'd removed his arm, replaced his rector and had done god knows what else to his physical form. He also couldn't help but notice the sudden disuse of 'Mr.Stark', it was a very subtle change but he'd caught it.

"You've improved greatly in the eight months that you have been with us."

The nonchalance in his voice was clear but the intentions of it struck true with Tony.

He'd been gone for eleven months. Almost a whole year. A year of captivity. Of experiments. Of torture.

At this point, Tony had been pushing the thoughts of his other life away. Pushing away the memories of people that loved and cared for him. Pepper. Rhodey. Obie. But at the mention of how much time he'd been away just bought it all back. And it hurt more than the endless throbbing pain of his entire body.

Right then, more than any other time in his life, he wanted to end it all.

Wanted to end his life because it really wasn't worth living if they weren't with him. 

Seeing this, the man chuckled and his hand traveled to Tony's hair, petting him like a dog, "There is no need to worry, you will soon forget your life before soon enough. Soon, all you will know is HYDRA."

Tony couldn't suppress a tremor of fear at the man's words. Then, with a sudden burst of stubborn courage, Tony sneered, "One day, your gonna screw up and when you do, I'm going to kill each and every one of you fucking scum-bags. You hear me? Every fucking one!!"

The man tutted as if he was disappointed in a child and removed his hand from Tony's hair, footsteps now echoing throughout the room and getting farther towards the door that he couldn't see.

His voice was cold and full of promise as he said, "This is your last warning. Anymore and you will truly have no tongue to speak with... You will be compliant. You will only speak when spoken to. You will only know HYDRA! You belong to HYDRA! And when we destroy Tony Stark, you will rise to be our Iron Phoenix!"

With that, the door slammed shut, lock echoing in the small room.

Tony was again left alone to the consuming silence, his dwindling hope getting smaller and smaller the longer he stayed.

He was scared to admit it but he didn't think he'd get out of this one...

 

\----------

 

It was only a couple of months later that they deemed the first stage a success.

The man had walked into the room, telling Tony about how they could start his training. Almost instantly, Tony started to formulate a plan to escape but at the threat of his loved ones in his life before, Tony ceased his planning for the time being, knowing full well that they wouldn't hesitate.

Being out of the restraints for the first time was almost foreign. The constant tightness of the straps still ghosting over his skin as he moved around what he hadn't in a year. The loss of the straps were practically a god send as he looked down at the rest of his body to inspect the changes that were obviously there.

He first inspected his missing arm that had stopped hurting so much, only a ghost feeling of an arm that used to be there still remained. He almost screamed when he found a robotic limb that he been fused with his skin, the scaring a painful red. The design of the limb was sliver plates, some tinted red with the shoulder sporting a red star. He found that he could control the limb as easily as he would with his real arm and they'd somehow been able to attach his nerves into the robotic limb.

The arc reactor had changed. The light was brighter and the design had changed to a triangle in the middle. He didn't mind the new design, if not, he liked it more than the previous design that he'd made in the cave. The reactor felt different. More energy pouring into his body but instead of it in just his chest, he could feel it coursing throughout his entire body.

He's body felt oddly stronger and he was right when he found that his physic was the same if not slightly improved. Impossible for a man who had been tied to a bed for a year... As he inspected the rest of his body, he came across a horrible mark that made the blood drain from his face. Scared deeply into his skin was the word 'HYDRA'. A brand of the people that owned him. That would control him... Disgust filled him at the prospect of being owned by these people. The fact that he couldn't remove it was even worse to comprehend.

Later, Tony would figure out that his senses had massively improved, passed human capability, and that he could smell the emotions of other people. Could smell caution coming off of some of the guards that were placed in the hallways in waves.

The change that made Tony freeze in shock, fear and sudden understanding was a great, massive wings that seemed to sprout from his shoulder blades. The specifically placed injection making more sense at the sight of the great wings. They had, at least, 19ft wing span an were different hues of reds. The feathers were ruffled, obviously from being chained up this whole time and the tips were just shy of brushing the ground. He now understood why the man had called him the Iron Phoenix. They made him fucking half bird!

He was just lucky that they started to shove him out of the room or he would have passed out...

His training was brutal, consisting of his flight and his fighting style.

The training would last until he was passed out from exhaustion or blood loss as they seemed happy to cut and plunge into his flesh with a knife or bullet. They didn't care, the wound would be healed the next day.

They'd made him strengthen his wings to do all kinds of different evasive movement whilst in flight and was able to keep in the sky for two hours maximum. They'd forced him to learn different fighting styles and had discovered that the energy in the reactor made his movements more fluid and reactions inhumanly fast. They were very happy about this fact.

It took a year before they found his flight and fighting techniques adequate to give him a permanent sparing partner and have him train in weapons.

They'd left him in a room, wanting to prepare the other for their combined training.

Then he'd heard voices in the hall, a low murmur but with his enhanced hearing, he was able to pick up the words easily, "--most done. They said it was going to be a 4-5 year convert. Stage one is complete, stage two is coming along as planned and soon stage three will be able to take full effect. Once we wipe him, he wont remember his name, family, friends. If their's no memory of Tony Stark then he will become our Iron Phoenix..." the voices got fainter and fainter and he listened intently before he couldn't hear them at all.

A blood boiling fury settled in as he put together what they were going to do to him. They would make him forget. They'd make him forget everything. Strip away his identity until he was so confused and helpless that he believed every word they would tell him. Those sick bastards.

He needed to get out now more than ever...

Just then the door swung open and he immediately stood up to follow.

They lead him down, dark hallways, towards the other end of the building. He'd never been at that end before as there was no need to but the dark corridors made the place feel unused and abandoned. Isolated for years. But he kept his mouth shut and his eyes forward. not risking another beating for his curious manner. 'curiosity killed the cat' they'd say before dragging him along leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

At the end of the desolate hallway, Tony saw big double doors and a window of light that illuminated the corridor slightly, too weak to penetrate the darkness completely.

As they stepped in, Tony was greeted by a buff, long haired man with a silver plated left prosthetic with a red star on the shoulder; almost the same as his own but on different arms and less red. Tony's model was also less bulky then the man's before him.

The man didn't look at Tony, solely concentrating on what the man with greying hair in front of him was saying. Tony was forced to keep on walking until he was directly opposite the stoney faced man.

"Assest," the greying man said, authority dripping from his tone, "This is Iron Phoenix. You will train him in weapons. Of any and all styles... Iron Phoenix, this is the Winter Soldier."

As the stoney faced man looked at Tony, cool grey eyes assessing, Tony caught the small flash of interest when the Winter Soldier's eyes lingered on his wings.

Yeah, Tony needed an escape plan. Asap!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So..... That happened....  
> Will update as soon as I can!!


	3. Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, tests for this week is over so this was the only chance I've had to settle down an write.  
> Hope you like it!!

Tony screamed himself awake.

The nightmare was a mixture of explosions, blood and agony. His agony.

Darkness of the room invaded his vision to the point where it felt like he was going to be swallowed by it. He didn't know what was reality and what was fake. He didn't know where he was anymore as he panicked and flailed in the thick blankets.

...Blankets...

It was then that he heard the voice, too busy screaming and trying to get away from the shadows to notice it before. It was clear and distinct but not at all demanding which he found extremely strange. The voice was soft and had an edge to it, kind of robotic. And, what he found most curious of all, the person had a British accent.

"-call someone for you, Sir? Perhaps Miss Potts?"

JARVIS!

Tony sighed with relief and fell back into the pillows, not caring that it was covered in his sweat. He was home. He'd been home for two years and he was perfectly safe. The Avengers had moved into his tower a couple of months after the Battle of New York. He was safe. He was not there anymore.

"I'm... I'm fine JARVIS. What time is it?" his voice came out in a rasp most likely due to the screaming he'd done. God, he was just so thankful that he thought of soundproofing his room before the Avengers came into the picture...

"It is currently 6:34am, Sir. Are you curtain you are alright?"

"Yes, yes," Tony waved dismissively, "I'm fine. Is anyone up yet?"

"Captain Rogers is in the common floor kitchen, making breakfast for everyone." JARVIS ever so helpfully informed.

Defeatedly, Tony threw and arm over his eyes and groaned long-sufferingly.

He and the Captain had said sorry over the fight in the helicarrier but it didn't excuse him from being a self-rightchous dick to him all the time. Cap was always on his case. Constantly complaining about his habits and weird sleeping and eating patterns. But the thing that annoyed Tony most of all was that it was just him. _Only_ him! Natasha wakes up in the afternoon, "It's okay!", Tony wakes up in the afternoon, "Your so irresponsible. Your a grown man, you shouldn't be sleeping this late!". Yep, he was basically the odd one out in Cap's eyes, the one that's not supposed to be there. The only that relies on his brain instead of his training and natural skills. Captain America was a dick and, out of 7 billion people, only Tony seemed to know that.

He trudged to the elevator, not bothering with the stairs due to his pre-coffee stage, though he wasn't too out of it to make sure that his strap was secure and hidden from sight.

The smooth metal doors slid open in that soft way that made it extremely hard to hear and revealed the common floor that stored the most precious and amazing thing since sliced bread...

"Cofffffeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" Tony groaned as he stepped out of the elevator and dragged himself to the kitchen where hopefully Steve would just roll his eyes and go back to whatever he was doing just like everyone else.

"Tony." came the irritated voice of their ever so sweet Captain... It was official, all of creation hated him, kind of like a passive aggressive personality. It also may have to do with the fact that Steve's got two sticks up his ass...

"Capsicle." Tony greeted back, not caring if Rogers couldn't take a joke.

Calloused hands made their way around the coffee machine of his own creation. One that only he could work due to all the buttons and shiny futuristic style that no one else seemed to understand even though it was painfully easy. He just pressed the last button for his no milk, no sugar, deathly black coffee when Steve spoke up in that voice that resembled concern but was really judging.

"I think you should lay off the coffee for a little bit. I heard that it could be really dangerous..."

"Hold it right there Capsicle. If you even _think_ about taking away my coffee you got another thing coming..." he growled out as he narrowed his eyes. But he felt a slight tug on his back so he added with a slightly more cheery note, "Also death by coffee seems like a good way to go."

Quickly, he turned his back on Rogers, hoping against hope that Steve didn't see a thing. He continued to pretend to be in his sleepy trance as he watched the brown liquid from heaven brew before his eyes.

It had been difficult but he was able to hide it to the best of his ability. To be honest, he was surprised that no one knew yet or suspected. (Seriously, they were huge! How could they not know about it!) But he'd done it. He convinced the entire world that the Ten Rings had had him the entire time. That after his attempted escape at the point of his three month capture, they obtained him again in the dessert and moved to a new location of operation. He convinced the whole world that he made faulty weapons and the idiots didn't even test the damn things believing that he was too weak and afraid to do anything against them. He convinced the whole world that the worst thing that came up was a couple of new scars and an arc reactor.

Obviously things had changed while he was away. Lots of things. Pepper was now CEO of STARK Industries after she found evidence that Obadiah Stane had organised the attack on Tony and was found dead in his office. They said it was suicide. She had shut down weapons manufacture, convinced that it was the best for the company and that warfare was not something to be encouraged. When he came back, he was expected to take up the position of CEO again but at his refusal Pepper continued the job with Tony at the head of R&E department. What could he say, she did a bang up job with it all and he's convinced that he would have done the same thing if he went back after the Ten Rings escape.

Everything fell into place on it's own and he was able to lead the company to the front in clean energy with his arc reactor. After everything: the conferences, the press, Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, Natasha and the Avengers, Tony had still kept the most secretest of his secrets to himself and out of view. He was determined to accept and forget... everything. Everything that happened to him he wanted to hide in a pit of darkness never to see the light of day again.

His criss-crossed scars were easily concealed by long-sleeved tops and jackets. His robotic arm that was too dangerous to remove due to it's connections to his brain and nerve cells so he created a synthetic material that looked and felt like skin to incase the metal arm. The hardest to hide was the massive wings that seemed to react to his mood now and again. The ever present and bright feathered-wings were wrapped around his torso and stilled by a thick strap. He looked a little more buff due to the poof of the feathers but it was hidden and no one suspected a thing.

Well... except Natasha...

The woman was damn persistent, that was no given.

The scary woman was convinced that he had more to hide. Well, he is hiding something but it doesn't mean he wants her to find it! What was worse was that she seemed to be close to figuring it out and that thought alone scared him to no end...

"Hey Stark!"

Steve's shouting drew him out of his trance.

He turned around to see the unimpressed face of Steve Rogers with his arms crossed and lips pressed in a line.

"What now?" Tony groaned, a lot longer than necessary. Couldn't the guy just leave him alone? Life would be a hell of a lot more easier.

However, this seemed like a bad thing to do as Rogers' eyes only narrowed farther and it wasn't really helping that all Tony could think about doing was smacking the look right off his face.

There was silence between them as Rogers gave his Judging Look and Tony just looked bored and tired while a hot inferno was rising inside him, getting ready to explode.

"You know," And there it was! "You don't have to be so rude and disrespectful all the time. Maybe if you weren't such a douche-bag, people might like you."

Tony could feel his hackles rising and along with it a shift of his concealed wings, "If you were someone that I actually liked then maybe I wouldn't be such a dick. Why don't you take one of those long naps that your so famous for and get out of my life!"

He could see Steve rising to the bait, his jaw tightening and fists clenching, "See! This is what I'm taking about! The things you say hurt and offend people--"

"Your mere existence offends me, Rogers! Wanna say I'm a dick, irresponsible, not a hero? Fine! Say all of that to your hearts content! So long as you stop trying to mould me to what you want so that you can go skipping on your way in your perfect little world!"

There was more silence as they just stared at each other. Tony gave his best death glare, daring the 40's boy to say something else while Steve stared at him in utter shock. Tony had never yelled at him like that. He usually replied in his usual snark to annoy Steve more but this... This was an angry, stressed and infuriated retaliation. Something that people thought Tony Stark was incapable of doing; thinking that he was a laid-back, arrogant genius.

Before Steve could say anything else, Tony had poured his coffee and marched out of the kitchen; most likely going down to his lab...

"You really can't let anything go, can you?" the voice sounded from nowhere surprising Steve so much that he practically jumped ten feet into the air.

He turned his head around impossibly fast, causing a slight whip-lash, to come face to face with the one and only: Natasha Romanov. Her red hair shimmered in the light and was expertly curled, her make-up done to perfection and just looking too good for someone at 6:30 in the morning.

She raised one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows and crossed her arms, expecting something...

Oh! The question!

"I'll have you know that I can let things go. I just can't stand _him_." Steve admitted grimly as he nodded his head towards the door that Tony had made his escape through.

"He's right, you know." Steve looked at her, jaw hanging low. He didn't know if he should be offended or surprised. She'd never really shown any kind of liking to Stark... "You always seem to go after him. It doesn't matter what we do or if we cause it, you always blame Stark. Why is that, I wonder?" she said in a voice that meant she knew the answer already.

Tapping her finger on her chin in mock thought, Natasha clicked her fingers and looked back at Steve with a piercing gaze, "Why would you be so controlling? Does he remind you of someone? Someone you used to hold dear to you?"

"Well, of course, he's Howard's--"

"No. Don't give me that. He acts nothing like his father. Brown hair, witty come-backs, playboy, self-sarcrificing..." Steve stopped breathing as he figured out what she was implying, "I read the file on James Buchanan Barnes and some of his characteristics and personality matches up with Tony's."

"N--" he tried to deny but was cut off once again.

"Don't lie, Captain." Natasha said sternly, "He's not your old friend and he's not going to just die spontaneously. You need to stop arguing with him because he's not doing what your old friend would do."

The guilt was near crushing now as he found that everything that she said was true. Tony and Bucky were very much alike and it killed Steve to see him going out to battle all the time.

"I know... But they're just so similar--"

"That's no excuse."

"I know. I have no right to do that to Tony. I'll apologise when he comes out of his lab."

Giving a sharp nod, Natasha made her way to the half-full coffee pot, back towards him, and proceeded to pour herself a mug. She seemed to enjoy it as she breathed in the hot aroma and moaned pleasantly.

"Can I ask?" Steve started, taking in a deep breath when she nodded, "Why do you care so much? I'm not saying that it was wrong that you spoke up but... you and Tony..."

"I was his personal assistant for several months undercover. When he's alone... I can see it in his eyes. The loss, the pain, the horror. It's a look that I, myself, wore when Clint first found me." She turned to Steve, gaze sharp and slightly... concerned, "No one knows what happened to him in the three years that he went missing, only the things that he's told us. I very much doubt that he was catching a tan with a glass of cool lemonade in hand like most of the world seem to think."

"What do _you_ think happened?" Steve asked, voice oddly quiet.

Then, she said one of the things Steve thought he would never hear coming from her, "I don't know..."

 

\-----------

 

As expected, Tony was in his lab. The windows backed out and door barricaded with steel walls that the Hulk would have trouble getting through, ensuring no ones entry.

If anyone were to go in there, they'd find Tony shirtless, pinkish criss-crossed scars all over his body, the raised skin of the word 'HYDRA' that had been etched deeply along his ribs, red wings of many hues stretched and flexing to their full impressive length and, lastly, they would see Tony peeling the skin off of his right arm to reveal a shining metal, the colour of silver and red. They'd see his grim expression that turned borderline murderous as he looked down at the scarred words down his ribs.

Deformed was the only thing Tony could say about his body; abnormal and freakish would be among the descriptive words.

He saw the scars as failures, times from the beatings and training at his miniature Hell that they made just for him. His wings were a constant reminder of the truth and past that he knew would catch up with him one day. He just didn't know when.

That was the point of all the publicity. Dive back in and stand in the lime light for as long as he can so that they couldn't snatch him again so soon. It was why he said on national TV that he was Iron Man even though he wanted to keep it a secret. It was why he was so eager to get into the Avengers Initiative.

He didn't want to go back.

He'd die if he went back...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of going a back and forth thing with the chapters? I'll see how it goes...  
> Thanx for reading!! ;)


	4. How we loose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the long wait for this chapter but I've had a lot of other things to do and I hadn't gotten round to completing the chapter but it's okay! It's here now!  
> Hope you enjoy!!

Aches and pains were common and, some times, agonising these days, especially when he was among the trigger-happy and the most sadistic bastards in the whole world. Tony knew that if he kept on struggling like this that there was going to be a lot of pain in his wrists and ankles. But he couldn't stop...

He couldn't see!

He couldn't scream!

He needed to breath!

There was so much pain. His back was in ribbons of deep cuts and blood from the thick leathery three-balled whip that they decided to use as punishment. His knees were groaning as they were forced to the cold hard ground, ankles shackled to the edges of the dank and blood-satined room. Wrists shackled in the same way but high above his head making him vulnerable and unable to defend himself from the brutal attacks that came from all directions.

His wings were wrapped in chains and rope that kept them open and attached to the ceiling to expose his back, they didn't want to damage what they had worked so hard to create. His red hued wings felt numb with the tightness of the rope and chains around them, barely even able to twitch before but now, the jingle of chains was echoing throughout the room as they struggled to free themselves.

The blood started to drip down from his one flesh arm, his wrist brutalised with the wild pulling that made the sharp edges of the shackles cut into it. He knew he needed to stop struggling, knew that he was only causing himself more pain... but that was at the back of his panicked and tortured mind...

All he could concentrate on was the fact that he couldn't breath, his lungs burning painfully with the miss of oxygen. All he could think was that he needed to get away from the hands that forced his head to crane back, making the wounds on his back burn with the new position. He needed to get away from the rough hands and held the white cloth over his mouth and nose and he desperately needed to get away from the flowing water that fell over the cloth and his face, filling his mouth and senses with water and desperation.

They'd done this ten times now.

They'd continued to poor the water until he was near to passing out. Then they would let him go, remove the cloth and stop the dreaded waterfall. He only had enough time to cough up all of the water that had been filling his lungs and take now wheezing breath before they would do it all over again.

He really wished he could turn back time and slap himself in the face for being so stupid!

Seriously! What the hell had he been thinking!? Though, would he have ever been able to pass up the tempting opportunity even if he knew about this?

... Probably not and he couldn't help but go back to the satisfying morning that it had all started...

 

\----------

 

It was now routine to be kicked awake. Most of the soldiers were dicks so they liked to put him in some pain before the day started. It had become the norm these days and Tony easily brushed it off now that he was used to it; he didn't know if he should be concerned about this or not...

He barely had breakfast in the mornings either though he didn't complain about it. Now, instead of breakfast, he'd have to fight the Asset before he could get anything to fuel himself. And that's where they were heading now.

The corridor was still dark and mouldy in some places and the smell was a little off putting but Tony would ignore this just so he could see the Asset. It gave him a guilty comfort that he was not alone in this and that, when the time came to escape, he'd have someone on his side. Hopefully.

Tony's training with the soldier was hard and painful as they basically tried to beat the crap out of each other and the Asset giving him pointers in-between and practicing weapons. When they spared, Tony found himself thanking the man for not continuing his round of abuse while he was downed. It was a small comfort. Though, Tony often found himself wondering if it was for the best or the worst that these sadists were able to hurt another person like they hurt him.

It was clear that the man had been here way more longer than Tony had by a long shot and it made him cringe to think about being alone with these people, with all of their attention focused on you. It was also clear that the Asset had gone through the 'Final Stage' as he hardly acted towards anything. The man was almost like a robot, an empty shell stuffed with coding to make it move, it was how the HYDRA scum treated him...

As his fighting and weapons training began to improve as the days dragged on, Tony found himself beginning to get skittish so he had to keep himself in check more often. The more he improved, the more closer he was to becoming an empty shell and he _did not_ want that to happen. He'd have to escape and it would have to be soon and with the Asset.

They were coming to the double doors now, the yellow glow of lights seeped through the crack at the bottom. It was just going to be another day of training and Tony took and quiet deep breath before they stepped into the large room.

However, Tony was shocked to see the Evil Agents running around in a frenzy, yelling to each other to get back-up and a sleeping shot to 'take him down'. In the middle of the room, the Asset was killing literally everyone that dared to try and stop him. His moves were fluid and his gun shots were well aimed. Tony had to force himself to stop from laughing as a bullet took two Agents at once.

Forcing himself out of his stupor, which his guards had't been able to do yet, Tony used his powerful wings and slammed the boney joint on the back of their heads, they fell to the ground out cold. A silly grin made it's way onto his face. It felt like an odd thing to do but it also felt right. Picking up a gun, Tony started to take part in the poorly organised escape plan with the Asset.

His shots were accurate and deadly, his punches were strong enough to cause serious injury with one hit (the fact it was made of metal also helped) and his wings proved to be as strong as they easily knocked over a person or was a great distraction with a beat of his wings to make the Agents squint at the force of wind. He also took great pleasure in killing one of the guys that laughed at him and then shot him because he could.

He'd just finished taking out a guy that was lining up a shot for the Asset when he caught the man's flickering gaze. Face indifferent but eyes confused but hopeful. Tony gave a quick grin and wink before he went back to his fight, missing the slight upward turn on the Asset's lips before it was gone.

About ten minutes later, the fun was over as about three dozen armed Agents burst through the doors and, without hesitation, fired at the two targets in the room. Tony felt a sharp twinge in his arm before the world started to swirl.

Tony was able to see the Asset collapse on the floor near him before his vision completely went dark...

 

\----------

 

And now he was here.

And he was going to say here until they let him out. He didn't know how long he'd been in that room, his internal clock said it was about four hours until they used the water. As soon as they tipped the bucket, all his mind was doing was screaming at him for air, panicking and making him forget where he was for a moment.

He didn't know how many times they'd tipped the bucket of water over his head but he expected it to keep going. It stopped. His face free of the soaking wet cloth and the bucket put in the corner of the room. He was finally able to breath again! In and out. In and out. Its was all he had to do to quell the pain in his lungs and the panic in his heart.

There was someone in front of him. He didn't have to look up to know how it was.

"I'm very disappointed in you Mr.Stark." he started in a voice Tony could only describe as oily. Tony didn't look up, he didn't want to see the bastard at all but as it turns out he didn't have a choice as his hair was suddenly in a harsh grip and was forcing his face to meet the other.

He could only glower in hatred as he looked upon the smug expression that he just wanted to hit so badly.

"You must learn that with actions come consequences." he stated before an ugly, cruel smile took over his face, he then turned to one of the guards by the door, "Put up an assassination for Obadiah Stane. Make it look like he killed himself."

"NO!!" Tony practically screamed as he lunged at the bastard only to be stopped by the chains around him.

The man laughed, loudly, coldly, before he punched Tony in the stomach, forcing him to his knees again, "I warned you before Mr.Stark."

_God_! He hated that voice so _much_! 

"This has nothing to do with them! So leave them alone!"

Tony felt like his eyes were burning with the effort to not cry, to not show weakness to the demons in disguise that surrounded him.

The man wouldn't listen as he turned his back on Tony and stepped out of the blood stained room. Before the door closed completely, he said, "Give him another twenty hits."

Tony didn't even comprehend the order until a fiery hot pain sent him into agony all over again.

No. Tony didn't think he'd ever try and make an off the bat escape ever again...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Chapter!  
> So that's what really happened to Stane!!  
> Sorry for the Tony beating but it has to be done...... T-T I'm also sorry for the action scene, I'm not sure if it's good or not...  
> I promise that I will get another chapter up as soon as I can! See ya!


	5. A hard truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the super late update but I’ve finally finished one of my other stories (which took a longer time than expected) and I wanted to update this asap due to the fact that it was kind of gathering up dust and I can’t stand an unfinished story.  
> It’s just this chapter for now but I promise for an update soon!

When the HYDRA bastards were finally done, they left him in agony. His blood made the floor slippery and Tony could hardly care that he was drooling onto the floor when they finally left him, still chained to all corners of the room, his wings had long since gone numb and Tony couldn't bring himself to care for the sensation of blood slowly sliding down his arm as he normally would.

The cuts along his back were deep and criss-crossed as well as layered, not an inch of his back wasn't screaming with the pain of the open wounds. He silently reminds himself not to move (not that he could anyway) fearing that with even one twitch or spasm of his muscles would make him pass out from the pain. The edge of unconsciousness was so close that Tony could almost feel it but he fought it off, not knowing what those sick bastards would do to him if he was out.

With the absence of his own screaming, Tony could hear once again, pain no longer clouding his mind as much as he listened out incase the bastards came back. Hearing nothing, Tony let his muscles relax ever so slightly as he took a deep, calming breath through his nose. However, instant regret filled him as he gagged, jarring his cuts and reopening some of them, the stench of blood clogging his nose in a gross and sickening way. He silently cursed HYDRA all the more for the heightened senses - they were a gift as well as a torment all in one... Breathing through his mouth, Tony closed his eyes and went completely still...

He listened more deeply, almost mapping out all the walls and corners near to him as he listened to the distant echoes of boots from a few floors down and one floor up. No one was near him or coming to retrieve him…

He was alone.

Letting out a sigh, Tony bowed his head and let it all go. It first started with a sniffle and a slight burning to his eyes and before long, he was giving soft, almost silent sobs that tore through his throat- raw from screaming out his agony... Lone tears tracked down his face and his cheeks burned hot and his cuts jarred every time his shoulders shook with his need to scream and cry...

Seconds alone turned into minutes and his hopelessness - a hollowness in his chest that made him feel like he was being eroded from the inside - was replaced with overwhelming rage and anger, making him feel hot to the touch as his muscles shook and his wings flexed and strained against the many chains and restraints.

They were all monsters… _Monsters_! All he wanted to do was _kill_ them in every way imaginable, _one after the other_! He’d felt anger and annoyance in his time but he’d never had such an _urge_ to kill as much as he did in that moment… They were just pure _evil_! _All of them_! Faceless and twisted beings that _laughed_ at his _pain_ and spilled his blood with _joy_ shining in their eyes! They'd taken his hope, his freedom, his fucking _humanity_! And now--!

... And now, Obie was as good as dead...

And it was all Tony's fault...

The white hot rage that had built up in his chest, breath heavy with the need to scream and fists clenched in the want to wrap them around their stupid throats and squeeze the life out of them... had drained away. The heat that had filled him with his anger turned cold like the showers he was forced into. Self-hate and sorrow made his resolve crumble and he cried like he hadn't done in years since his parents deaths.

He cried and cried for god knows how long...

He cried for Obie.

He cried for the Asset as, surely, he was being punished for this too.

He cried for Pepper and Rhodey and Happy, afraid of accidentally killing them.

He cried for the shattered pieces that his life had become...

By the time he'd finished crying, he was exhausted and in pain, his back and arm and his everything flaring up now and again in a dull throb. With one last breath, Tony's eyes slid closed, as heavy as lead, and he slipped off into oblivion and thought of one last childish hope that he desperately wanted to believe: that the monsters would leave him there and never come back...

 

\----------

 

Tony didn't know how long he'd been kept in the room, there were no windows and no food or water was delivered and he kept slipping in and out of consciousness due to the slow healing of too many wounds on his back. With a grim face, Tony knew that they would scar just like every other scar he had, a mark inflicted by the evil people in his life.

Tony had long stopped crying, his face gritty and covered with dirt once again, covering the clear tracks of tears that had fallen. He'd stopped moving and he breathed easier in the pitch black that they left him in, feeling safe and protected in the cover of darkness, but he knew that his own illusion would come crashing down around him when the heavy metal door finally swung open.

And, just as predicted, it did...

The hinges creaked and groaned with the weight of the door when it shifted once again, revealing the sharp-toothed smiles and twisted faces of his tormentors. As they approached, filling the small room and surrounding him, shackles and collars at the ready at the sign of only slight disobedience, of defiance against their will. Their scents and emotions flooded into the room with them, making Tony want to choke and gag at the sickly sweetness, slimy and off with the taste and feel of sadistic joy. He desperately wanted them all to leave, he'd rather starve to death than go with any of them...

However, like always, he had no choice.

"Hello, Mr.Stark," the head-scum said with cheer in his voice but Tony kept his head bowed, long and unkept hair obscuring his face from the mad-man, "I heard about Mr.Stane's suicide after being founded out by your assistant! The treachery! I can't believe that he would arrange for you to have been killed by the Ten Rings! Well," he continued, oblivious to Tony's frozen and stiff muscles as well as the small tremors the genius was giving off, "At least that didn't work out!"

At the end of the bastard's little babble, Tony did not feel the rage that he was completely entitled to feel but instead, his chest flooded with sorrow and a new sense of hopelessness that Tony didn't feel before. But, despite this, Tony shook his head, his mind clinging to the memories of Obie since he was a little boy - he even babysat Tony from time to time! Lifting his head as much as he could, Tony glared at the grinning man through his lengthening bangs, and gave a slight shake of his head in denial, "No," he stated simply, voice raspy with disuse and past screaming, "I don't believe you... And I never will..."

In response, the man only smirked, eyes alight with knowing like the man knew something Tony didn’t, before he gestured to Tony and the other men moved forward.

Lack of food and his still healing injuries made him so weak that he couldn't even find it in himself to stand up on his own or say anything more to the man. They dealt with him with rough hands, uncaring that some of the too deep cuts on his back opened up and started to bleed again as they untangled him from the looped chains over him and hefted him up from the cold floor he fell on when they finally did detangle him. Tony still didn't know why the cuts hadn't healed yet... Maybe it was to do with the conditions and nutritions he took - they did feed him quite a lot, more than the Ten Rings did anyway...

They dragged him through the halls, the chains chinking at their hips, finding no need to use them on his weakened and useless state. His bare feet and his bloodstained wings scuffed along the rough flooring as they were dragged along with the fast pace, flecks of died blood coming off and settling on the floor behind them.

Two of the goons held him, one on each side of him, hands clamped tightly over his biceps, Tony could smell the slight tinge of disgust coming off of the men at having to touch Tony's skin. Although, he could hardly blame them... His skin was caked in dirt, black smudges and dried blood... Actually, he could blame them, they're the fuckers that did it. Another two walked behind them, probably back-up for if he resisted too much, and the scum-bag in charge leading the way at the front.

Before he knew it, Tony was being pulled into the gym-like area where he and the Asset trained. However they didn't stop there, as Tony had expected them to, but crossed the hall that still had a strong scent of bleach all over the place, Tony could only scrunch up his nose at the overpowering smell. Probably to get rid of all the blood from all the HYDRA agents they killed. They exited through the double doors that the Asset usually left through when they both finished for the day. The halls were darker than his own, lights flickering as they passed, casting shadows over the men around him and twisting their features to appear like every bit of a monster that Tony suspected them to be.

Pushing through another pair of doors, Tony was dumped on the cold concrete floor near a corner wall. Tony could only groan in protest and was unable to stop the agents from shackling his wrists to the wall behind him, his movements sluggish and pain spiking along his back.

Once he was able to push himself up, Tony lowly observed the new room around him. It was large, with a high ceiling and big machines dotted around the room. There was no sign of any windows in the room but it was well lit, with swaying florescent lights. In the room were several other people with white lab coats - doctors - and clip boards, eyes trained on their own pieces of paper and not even giving him a second glance. His eyes scanned over the several guards stationed at the perimeter, stony faced and muscles tense, like they were expecting something to jump out and kill them at any moment. All their eyes were trained on something in the middle of the room...

Tony's eyes widened slightly when he saw an odd chair bolded in the middle of the room, cables and wires coming in and out of it, and sitting on the chair was the Asset. Both his arms were strapped out with several leather bands, as well as he legs. He seemed calm, face straight and neutral as he sat ram-rod straight in the chair. Glancing at the chair, Tony couldn’t help a sinking feeling in his stomach as he studied it further… It looked deservingly normal (sans the wires and restraints) but there was something wrong with that chair and it didn’t help that his instincts practically screamed at him to get away from it.

When he looked at the Asset's face, Tony was surprised to find the man staring back, unblinking, cool grey on sharp brown. It was at that point that Tony got a whiff of the Asset's scent but flinched when he resisted panic. Not the mild kind of panic that came with a child being caught with his hand in the cookie jar but the indescribably terror filled panic that was so powerful it made Tony feel like it was his own. Tony was surprised to say the least, the Asset had a natural scent like everyone else, his being metal, gunpowder and freshly fallen rain but Tony had never smelt an emotion like he did with everyone else. Now, all Tony could smell from the man was terror and panic.

"Lets begin the procedure." a scientist near the Asset said and suddenly, the terror filled panic changed into a wave of submission, the Asset's moment of giving up...

"Wait--" Tony tried but his pained throat made it so much harder.

Before he could do much more, something was being fitted over the Asset's head, a metal helmet closing over part of his face as he was pushed back into the chair, something shoved into his mouth - a mouth guard maybe? Then there was a crackle of electricity and the Asset was screaming around the mouth piece in agony, pain and spiteful electricity filling the air around the room.

Tony could do no more than stare in shock before anger took over, powering his systems with energy that he used to stand on unsteady feet. Ignoring the flare of pain along his back, he shouted for them to stop, "Stop! Stop it! What are you doing to him, you sick bastards!"

They all ignored him, their eyed glued to the screaming man in the chair.

Just like it started up, the machine powered down with a small groan, the electricity diminishing rapidly until it was completely gone. Everything was still until the helmet lifted off of the Asset and the man's grey eyes stared into nothing, completely deprived of emotion. The Asset's scent was back to how it was before, no emotions attached, detached of everything around him...

What was that machine? Did it somehow suppress people of emotion? Control them? Brainwash... them...

That was it. The fuckers _brainwashed_ him to control him!!

And just like that, Tony's rage was back, feathers bristling slightly in his anger, "What the fuck did you do..."

The scum ignored him, focusing on releasing the Asset and saying a series of random words before the Asset said a detached, "Ready to comply."

It's like they turned him into a robot... But the effects must wear off, like what happened in their off-the-bat escape attempt... How many times did they do this...?

In his own growing horror, Tony didn't realise that the head of scum was approaching him but quickly snapped out of it when the monster’s heavy scent grew nearer, silent alarm bells going off in his head in an automatic warning system. The scum wore a wide grin on his face, radiating happiness and sick, sadistic pleasure which made Tony even more angry but he suppressed it to give the man his most deathly glare.

"What did you do to him, you piece of shit." Tony said arms pulling on the short chains taunt to his sides, muscles tense with his white hot rage that was near overpowering...

"We gave him a gift," the scum started (the guy was even lower than scum, lower than dirt), "We blessed him with strength and the power to make a difference. We set him free."

"Free?" Tony spat, "That isn't free! Your fucking brainwashing him! Your sick. Sadistic. Delusional! I'm gonna fucking kill you!" As he said this, his wings arched out, towering over his head menacingly. Tony felt a small bit of satisfaction as the Hydra bitch backed up, a scent of fear mixed with amazement coming off of the man, "I can guarantee it..." Tony finished lowly.

A twisted smile took over the man's face as he studied the powerful wings, flakes of blood still clinging to some of the feathers and Tony heard a small, whisper of "Beautiful." under the man's breath with his heightened hearing. He glanced over and called the Asset over before he said, "New Orders: you will train Iron Phoenix, your new partner, to your level of fighting. For the mean time, I want you to watch him for the night. Do not let him escape, if he tries, you have permission to injure, not maim, and recapture."

The Asset looked at Tony, taking in Tony's wings and his right metal arm with a small spark of interest in his eyes, just like the first time they met... There was no recognition in his eyes and Tony couldn't smell anything on the soldier other than the man’s natural scent...

"Orders confirmed. Target: Iron Phoenix. Objective: training stealth and observation. Recapture, not terminate, if escape." The Asset confirmed in a monotoned voice before he took position next to the biggest scum-bag of the earth.

"Good." was the only thing he said before he ordered everyone to file out and turning the majority of the lights off, leaving Tony with the Asset in the dimly lit room.

Tony could only stare hopelessly at the man who was newly brainwashed in the most horrible way possible for a few silent seconds. With a sigh, Tony let his wings drop, bottom feathers brushing the floor in his own defeat and dejected emotions and sat down on the cold floor, leaning forward as to not scrap his healing back on the wall behind him. The Asset, or the Soldier, sat down in front of him, eyes scanning over every curve and feather of his body.

For the rest of the night, until the next day, the Asset stared at Tony, doing as he was ordered but as the genius passed out, exhaustion taking over, the Asset reached forward with a timid hand, fingers brushing over the softness of the feathers that covered Tony's sleeping form like a blanket. Tony shifted slightly in his sleep but almost instantly settled back down and the Asset continued to stroke his feathers until he moved onto the arm, rubbing his thumb over Tony's scarred shoulder joint on skin and metal and touching just shy of Tony's Arc Reactor, the blue glow making the Asset frown ever so slightly before pulling back completely. His orders were to train and observe, not touch...

Standing back up, the Asset went back to looking Tony over and when his handler came back in the morning, that was the exact position he was in...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t so sure about this chapter so if you think there is anything majorly wrong with this then comment away.  
> Update will be soon-ish!


	6. Bad news arrives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait but I can now say that my GCSE exams are officially over!!!! YES!!! You guys know what that means!!  
> Hope this is to your liking sorry it took so long to get this up!

“Fuck!” Tony screamed in fury as he punched a large dent into one of the metal cabinets in his lab. He punched again and again until there was a large hole in the side of the cabinet and when he stopped, pulling out his hand from inside it, there was a large amount of blood covering his knuckles with bits of jagged metal stuck in his skin. But he didn’t care, it barely registered on his pain level and it would soon heal up in a matter of seconds, he had more pressing matters to attend to anyway…

Glaring furiously at the blue screen in front of him, Tony read over the facts once more with a deadly intent growing in his chest.

He’d just hacked into a mainframe. Not just any mainframe, but HYDRA’s mainframe.

Over the time he’d been out in the clear, free and living his life in a carefree manner in front of the cameras, Tony had been working hard behind the scenes. He’d searched and searched, hacking and breaking into any HYDRA base that he could, looking for files or any evidence of his capture they could expose or anything on Winter, who was unable to get away— 

_Pain._

_A blur or silver and a scream of rage, flashing repeatedly over his sight, each passing blur made his side burn with pain and distantly he could hear his bones crack..._

_Tony screamed in pain as he felt a knife go through his hand and wing, pinning him to the concrete floor, as the threat loomed overhead. However, despite the expressionless face, Tony could see it clearly in the man’s eyes. Regret and sorrow for what he’d been ordered and programmed to do…_

— Shaking his head, Tony growled like an animal, eyes dark with displeasure as he recalled the memory and read the confines on the screen. He couldn’t stop his wings from ruffling in anger, the scar on his left wing wasn’t visible due to the thickness of his feathers but he could feel the sharp echo of pain from the old wound and at the same time, his eyes shot down to the large scar on the back of his hand before he turned it over to reveal the identical scar on his palm, the line wide and the skin raised slightly in scar tissue.

He remembered when he first got back to the States. Pepper, Rhodey and Happy, all long forgotten faces that were all red and blotchy from crying but undoubtably happy with his return to them after so many years of thinking him dead. He remembered his own tears of joy as he hugged each and every one of them in a tight grip, fists unwilling to let go of the fabric clad around them, afraid that they would disappear with a blink of an eye.

Later that day, Tony was in his home, curled up comfortably on the sofa with the news playing quietly in the background when Pepper came strolling into the room, heels clicking rhythmically on the floors. He waved a hand in greeting as she smiled but her smile almost instantly fell as she stared at his hand. It was a moment of stunned silence on her part before she broke down into tears, fisting Tony’s clothes desperately as she cried and sobbed into his chest when he ran up to her, begging him to forgive her for not finding him sooner, for not looking for him hard enough. All Tony could do was hold her as she cried herself to sleep in his arms.

The scar on his hand wasn’t that bad, or at least it wasn’t as bad as the other scars he’d collected over his three years of captivity but after the reaction he got from Pepper (strong, proud Pepper who he’d never seen break down in such a state), he decided to hide the scars as well as his lack of flesh arm and wings.

Coming back to himself, Tony looked over the data again, eyes looking over the reports with a critical air that he had to force upon himself so that he wouldn’t loose his calm again. He quickly took down notes and went over every detail of the reports that he could before he deleted all evidence of them. As he was reading the final bits of data that he’d acquired, Tony felt a small nudge at his arm, the small ‘ting’ of metal bumping lightly against metal, had him looking down at his bot.

Smiling sightly, Tony patted DUM-E on the claw before he took the offered smoothie from him. That happened a lot. Whenever he lost his shit and flipped out, Tony would often find DUM-E, or U, or sometimes even Butterfingers, bringing him a fruit smoothie to help calm him down. When he first took off his attire of synthetic skin to reveal the metal arm, his little bots had gone crazy, beeping and rushing around the lab with worry, bringing him the first aid kid and bandages along with JARVIS’ concerned voice filtering through the speakers, asking him if he needed him to do anything or call anyone (Tony would have laughed at his robot children for faffing about so much if it wasn’t for the situation it was based on). It was obvious to say that JARVIS only stopped fussing when Tony at least agreed to a full body scan which was where he learned that his bones were mostly hollow to enable him to fly and that the metal arm and the Arc Reactor was infused into his skin and nerves; it would be impossible to remove it surgically.

“Sorry bud,” Tony sighed as he patted DUM-E once more with his flesh hand, happy at the fact that DUM-E didn’t noticeably try to avoid his touch. The first time that had happened, Tony had been mortified. It wasn’t that Tony had ever hit them or threw something at them, it was that they were scared to hurt him when he became angry, the fear and hatred in his eyes was not something they had been overly familiar with in the past. He truly hated himself in those moments…

However, as much as he attempted to restrain his anger at the best of times, Tony couldn’t restrain it in this instant. He could still feel the soft brush of the feathers of his wings on his shoulders, quaking with anger. The contents on the screen was in regards to Tony. The report stated that he was an experiment, recorded the reactions to pain, things that they considered faults and things they considered weaknesses. They had x-rays of his wings and potential diagrams of what they hoped would happen before the experiment took place. There’s a sample of his blood, before and after samples that highlighted the fact that he just wasn’t human anymore. They had prints on his metal arm and how it worked and also powers and advanced senses he thought they never knew about. Everything that had ever happened to him was there and more. What was worse was that they had dozens of recordings of him: him flying, fighting, in pain and also with Winter…

Right at the end, at the very end, was a small note, something Tony would have missed if he wasn’t studying the reports so closely. The note at the bottom suggested that there was more data on the subject, more photos and reports that were off screen; written reports on paper documents hidden and locked away in the base he was once prisoner in.

He had to get rid of them…

He had to go down there…

With no further hesitation, Tony started to shut down his lab, locking the information away and behind impenetrable firewalls, never to see the light of day if Tony had any say about it. Patting DUM-E on the arm as he moved passed, keeping his wings clamped to his back so that he wouldn’t knock anything over.

Quickly, he walked over to the small platform on the other side of his lab and waited as JARVIS allowed the suit to form around him, keeping wings hidden and secure from damages and from view.

“Hey, J, tell the team I’ll be out for a few hours or so. And tell them to stay out of my lab.” Tony asked, barely able to keep the growl of anger out of his voice.

And then he took off.

 

\----------

 

“I apologise Colonel but Sir has just left in his Iron Man suit.” Came the posh British accent from the ceiling speakers.

Sighing, James Rhodes rubbed at his face before he looked back up to the elevator ceiling, “How long ’til he comes back?”

“That is undecided Colonel, Sir is estimated to be finished in approximately three hours and thirty-six minutes.” Came the response which made Rhodey give a sigh even louder than the last.

Since Tony came beck from captivity, Rhodey had tried to take off as much time as he possibly could without being accused of going AWOL. For three years, his friend had been missing from his life and now he wanted to spend as much time as possible with him.

Rhodey’s team was the first searching party to actually find the base of the Ten Rings. Silently, Rhodey shivered at the memory: the place had been scorched beyond recognition, fires long since burnt out with shreds of material and ash floating to the ground. There, Rhodey found something even more shocking as he found some barely recognisable Stark Industries Weaponry that was the cause of the explosion. Upon further inspection, Rhodey and his team found a cave that had black scorch marks on the walls and ceiling as well as bodies that were burnt to a crisp and to something beyond recognition. Bullet holes and guns were littered around the place...

By that point, Rhodey had to leave, grief overwhelming him as he came to a conclusion that he desperately wanted to deny. After that, he was taken off the search and they had forensics coming in to test the different DNA, or the little DNA they could find - left over blood from the dead that hadn’t burnt in the fire.

When they came to give him the news, he was with Pepper and Happy, the three closest friends of Tony trying to take comfort from one another. When the door bell sounded, it was like an ominous sound, each ring was a sinister echo in their heads and when they finally opened the door… Rhodey didn’t think he’d ever been able to compare anything in his entire life to the pain he felt when those two soldiers, grim faced and eyes pitiful, told him that they found Tony’s DNA in the cave, his body supposedly burnt to a crisp.

Pepper’s reaction was to collapse down in a heap on the floor, crying and wailing for the loss of her friend while Happy attempted to console her, a few tears seeping out of his own eyes as he attempted to not sob in turn with Pepper. Rhodey just felt numb. He’d known Tony for a long time and he still remembered the day he adopted the little snarky kid as his baby brother. It was hours later when he called up his mother, having to tell her that their little Tony wouldn’t be coming around for Christmas that year, like he’d promised…

However, while Tony’s friends and family were truly heartbroken, the world had turned sour. Information had leaked onto the internet about the SI weapons found in the Ten Rings' terrorist base and people instantly accused Tony of dealing under the table. On the internet, people painted him as a murderer and claimed that he deserved the death he got. The comments went on for a while and the company took a huge hit, damn near crippling it with the fact that it lost its best supplier of technology and the fact that he was the face of illegal activity in his company; Tony was unable to even defend himself against the accusations due to his death.

It was only revealed about a year before Tony’s return that Obadiah Stane was found to be guilty of selling the weapons behind Tony’s back and tried to have him murdered by the Ten Rings. When they went to obtain him with Pepper as the key discoverer, they found him dead in his office and note of suicide on his desk, dirtied with the spray of blood from when the bullet went through his head. Rhodey had been disgusted with the turn of events for there would be no justice for his friend who was murdered by the man he considered a second father to him when he was growing up...

With that, Tony’s name was cleared and his Will was brought out once again, announcing that incase Stane was already dead or unable to take over, the company would have been left to James Rhodes. And so, with no real idea of how to lead a company, nonetheless a billion-dollar one, he gave the position of CEO to someone who know what to do. Pepper Potts then became the CEO of Stark Industries and she shined in the position and kept atop of everything with as much efficiency as Tony. Anyone that wasn’t sexist or bias could say that Pepper Potts did a truly magnificent job as the CEO and it suited her even more so.

Then the most amazing thing happened as James’ best friend rose from the grave and came home to them with a smile on his face and a ‘fuck you’ to the world when he refused the CEO position. Having Tony back was… unbelievable and neither Pepper, Rhodey or Happy could’ve have been any more happier for his return.

After a couple of weeks back in the USA, back home with his bots and with JARVIS and his friends, Rhodes finds that something was off about his friend. With a million watt smile to the camera and a sassy remark here and there, Tony seemed almost as if his three years in captivity hadn’t affected him at all, with only a blue glow and a few scars to say otherwise.

On Rhodey’s next leave, he decided to spend it with Tony and that was when he started to see it. He started to see that his friend was damaged, injured, scarred and changed. He found that his friend didn’t trust anymore, he was more withdrawn from Rhodey than he’d ever been before and he’d get a far off look in his eyes sometimes and James’ swore that at one point he saw a fire from within, like there was a hot vengeance that Rhodey nor anyone could ever completely understand.

On his time off, Rhodey discovered that his friend was changed and broken but he was still Tony, he was still the little smart-ass kid that Rhodey would have to drag out of trouble, he was still the young man that had scoffed most of his Mother’s potatoes and then proceeded to call her ‘Mama Rhodes’ to this day forth. He was still Tony and that meant that Rhodey would always be there for him, no matter what...

Using his override codes, Rhodey went to Tony’s lab to wait for him there.

Walking into the lab, Rhodey frowned at the sight before him before he looked at JARVIS’ camera, “JARVIS,”

“Yes, Colonel Rhodes.” came the British accented reply.

“What is this?” Rhodey asked holding up a large red feather that had been resting innocently on a lab stool the shades being elegant and beautiful and just by the feel of it he could tell that it was one hundred percent real (which should be impossible given its size).

“I cannot say, Colonel.” JARVIS replied in a clipped sort of tone.

This only made Rhodes frown in more confusion as it was obvious the AI wasn’t saying anything. What he didn’t know was why his friend had a big ass feather to begin with?!

“Well,” Rhodey stated, not quite sure what to think, “I guess some things never change…” he trailed off, setting down the feather where he found it.

“Indeed, Colonel.” came JARVIS’ voice as indifferent as ever, making Rhodey chuckle lightly to himself.

 


	7. Sensitive Issues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! New chapter! Hope you like this one and once again it’s a change; continuation from chapter 5! Hope you like it!
> 
> I’ll also be on holiday for a few weeks before school starts up but I will try to write, edit and post chapters as much as I can! Thanks for being patient for this chapter!!

When Tony finally woke up it was to a room he’d never been in before.

While the ~~room~~ cell was similar to his own and if his vision hadn’t been improved by the experiments then the room would have been identical to his own; concrete grey walls, barred ceiling light and the same dampish smell that was more natural after- years?- some time getting used to it. However, he almost instantly knew that this room was not his own as he could see the specs on the ceiling had a different formation to his own and that his own ceiling light was slightly brighter than the one he was currently looking at.

Not moving a muscle, Tony observed what he could but it was only when he caught the creamy textured colour of human skin did Tony actually move. Jumping up at the speed of light, Tony hurled himself into the corner of the room, crouched with his eyes slanted and his teeth bared with his blood red wings arched in a threatening way, ignoring the screaming pain that came from his back and the shakiness in his limps. Distantly, Tony wondered when he started to act more like an animal than a human…

It was a few tense minutes that Tony stayed put, muscles tense for an attack incase the stranger attempted to move and hurt him.

Tony wasn’t sure how much time passed until he snapped out of his fight or flight instincts and properly looked at the man. When he did, some of the tenseness drained out of his shoulders (causing him to twitch a little at the pain) and his wings to lower ever so slightly, still a little on guard but not as much as it was before.

There was a couple of more minutes of staring before Tony allowed his eyes to flicker over the room before they returned to the still form of the Winter Soldier sitting on one of the two beds that were in the small room, no bedding in sight.

“Wanna explain?” Tony asked, his voice rough with disuse.

The silence stretched on like a never ending supply of chewing-gum and Tony was beginning to think that he wasn’t going to get an answer at all when the man opened his mouth, “Objective: Train and observe the target: Iron Phoenix. If escape, recapture; do not terminate.”

Growling in the back of his throat, Tony couldn’t help but tense even more at the robotic reply and the cold empty eyes that were staring into his own. His instincts screamed at him that the man before him would not hesitate to act on his orders, that he needed to take the guy out if he ever had any hope in escaping. Winter must have felt his urge to attack him as his silver metal arm whirled in preparation for a fight. Attempting to fight the urge, the fear, the pressing anger that felt like a wild animal wanting to burst out of his skin, and with that, Tony let out an infuriated yell as he turned around and smashed his flesh hand into the concrete wall.

Taking deep breaths, Tony pulled out his hand, barely noticing the broken knuckles or the blood dripping from numb fingers as he stared to the dented wall, some of the concrete crumbling away as he removed his hand but all the while still whole.

Suddenly, Tony felt absolutely helpless.

He felt caged and with the memories of what their captors did to Winter, Tony felt like his world was crumbling around him. For the first time since Tony had arrived at the HYDRA base, he felt like he’d never be able to escape…

Shaking his head, Tony rid himself of the word. A word like ‘escape’ could drive a man crazy if he thought about it too much and too often. Right now, Tony was caged and while he hoped to escape before anything worse could happen, he knew he needed to deal with the situation he was in now.

Turning around, Tony faced the Winter Soldier with thin set lip and his muscles tense with wariness as he walked towards the man and sat down on the opposite bed. Whilst Tony held his hand, waiting for it the majority of the broken bones to heal, he let his mind wonder to many different things at once: he thought about the cuts on his back that were days old and barely half healed (he could only think about drawing it up to a lack of food as he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a crumb of bread); he thought about the implications of the fact that his jailers have decided to put him in the same cell as their Asset, a completed version of what they wanted him to become; he thought about the crap lumpy beds that were only really mats pressed up against the corners of the cell in an effort to use up as much room as possible.

“Do you know what they’ve got planned for me?” Tony asked, his voice soft and he couldn’t hate the fact that even his voice sounded defeated anymore than he already did.

Looking up at the Soldier, Winter only shook his head slightly at the question, unwilling to talk or say anything more, eyes just as cold and empty with the same bland scent of an emotionless robot.

A few hours passed between them and Tony could only say that he’d quite happily be killed by Winter he was so bored; the Soldier hadn’t even moved a strand of hair let alone a fucking muscle. Sighing, Tony moved himself into the corner of his bed so that his back was held up by the corners of the cell walls, his flesh hand still not healed was cradled over his stomach as he brought his knees up. Warily, Tony also moved his wings around, letting the soft feathers brush against his shoulders and curl around him slightly, like a defensive cocoon.

As Tony was settling down, hunger making him have less energy to actually stay awake and aware any longer, he caught something strange. Throughout the whole time Tony had been shifting and getting comfortable, Winter had kept his gaze forward like it was bolted to the opposite wall. Now, however, the Soldier’s steel-grey eyes were on him or, more specifically, on his wings. Subtly shifting his wing closest to Winter back and forth, he found that his observations were true as the grey eyes followed the movement.

Having the strange feeling that the Soldier liked his wings, Tony slowly moved his right wing towards the highly trained killing machine (probably not his smartest idea ever). The process was achingly slow but Tony didn’t want to chance that if he went too fast that his other cell-mate might take it as an attack and break his wing (he’s experienced tonnes of broken bones, he didn’t need another).

At first it seemed like Tony had made the wrong assumption and that the Soldier was merely curious about the wings but as Tony was considering taking the appendage back, he saw Winter slowly move his flesh arm, slow and unsure. When he made contact with his wings, Winter seemed to freeze up, his eyes flickering to Tony, then the sealed door, back to his hand, and then Tony again.

When Tony gave a slight encouraging nod, giving his consent, Winter seemed to take in a breath before he started to stroke. At first it was normal and he could feel the hand stroking him, it was gentle and careful with his wings, like Winter was afraid of breaking them if he stroked too hard. A couple of minutes in, his stroking got more bold and less cautious which Tony counted as a win.

However, what he didn’t count on was that Winter would dig his nails further into his wings, straightening out the crumpled feathers and dragging them through his fingers slowly. With that action, Tony felt a jolt of electricity and he felt like it was something seriously intimate in the bedroom kind of area, a sensitive area that Tony had never known about in his wings. With the unexpected jolt, Tony’s wings snapped back to his sides, his body trembling with the lingering feel of Winter’s fingers in his feathers and the sensitivity still lingering.

Panting lightly, Tony opened his eyes (he didn’t really remember closing them) and he looked up at the Soldier who was now standing, muscles tense and eyes wary as he looked down at Tony. It was obvious that the sudden movement of his wings made the Soldier on guard again.

Shaking off the ghost fingers in his wing, Tony took a deep breath before he forced himself to stop shaking and looked up at the Soldier with hardened eyes, “Don’t do that again.”

The Soldier didn’t say anything or even nod in understanding but as he and Tony locked eyes, he got the implication that Winter understood and wouldn’t do it again. When he sat down, it was back to Tony feeling exhausted and the Soldier staring at the wall.

With one more look at the Soldier, Tony wrapped his wings around himself a little tighter before he dropped his head lightly on his wing, fluffing it up a bit to act as a substitute pillow. He was asleep within a few seconds.

 

\----------

 

It must have been a couple of hours later when Tony woke up again as he felt better rested now that he wasn’t hanging from the ceiling and was on a bed, his wings thankfully able to drape around him (they’d become a source of comfort after he got used to them).

Becoming more aware, Tony felt that he was in the same position and location which he slept in and that he could still feel eyes boring into his being, watching his every inhale and exhale — he’s probably been watching for hours now. Quickly Tony did a sort of once over, checking if anything had changed, feeling for any added injuries, or any that had gotten worse, without actually moving or opening his eyes. There was a throb in his hand and Tony was really hating himself for loosing it and punching a wall like that (he’d never done that before…) and he could feel the slight burn in his back, his wounds getting worse and worse, a small infection probably setting in…

Finally, Tony opened his eyes and gave a quick survey of the place before settling on the other man in the room, steel grey eyes making Tony want to melt into the wall just to get away from the empty gaze of the other.

There was a tense silence for a while, before Tony felt the need to talk for a little bit (after all he’s been through, he still had the uncanny need to fill in the silence with something other than tenseness), “Do you know how long you’ve been here?” Tony asked, voice a little softer and more strained than normal; he forced himself to unwrap slightly from his position, ignoring the shivering cold that Tony knew to be a sign of falling ill. “Under there control?” he added for good measure.

The Soldier said nothing, face an expressionless mask but Tony could see it in his eyes that there was a childish confusion behind the grey shade of his eyes (or maybe he was delusional?). So Tony continued, voice slow and steady: slow to keep the man from returning into his shell again if he talked too fast; steady was so that Tony wouldn’t accidentally whine in pain, “Did you have a family before HYDRA took you? I know I have Ob-- Pepper, Rhodey and Happy but my parents died when I was 17 and I never had any siblings… I was never close to my parents but my caretaker was a man named Edwin and he did the best he could, I guess.” he chuckled weakly as he picked at the dried blood underneath his nails, his heart sinking at the almost slip of Obie, a man that had been like a father to him even more than his own…

Eyes flicking up to his cellmate, Tony sighed in defeat, his shoulders slumping slightly and ignoring the flair of pain when he did so. Apparently, he was going to spend the rest of his 'relaxing time’ in silence before they came to fetch them for more abuse and training. Anyway, he didn’t want to willingly give up anymore information than he had already.

With the conversion obviously terminated, Tony decided to do something productive other than sitting there doing fuck all.

Shifting a little, Tony got into a better position before he unfolded his right wing and brought it around to his front as far as he could. With the red wing easily coming around to his front, Tony found that his feathers were ruffled, with bits of dried blood and dirt still clinging to some of the feathers, and some were even bent in a way that Tony needed to either attempt to fix or simply pull out.

Without much more prompting, Tony let his fingers dive into the feathers, combing through them all and noticing the fact that he didn’t feel a jolt of electricity upon touching them like when Winter did. Steadily and skilfully, Tony got rid of all the blood and dirt, straightening his feathers and getting rid of the ones that couldn’t be repaired. By the time both of the insides of his wings were done, Tony had a small pile of long feathers next to his knee.

The process was going well but when he tried to continue on the outside of his wings, Tony found that he couldn’t bend that way and so he gave up and folded his wings up on his back once again. It was only then did the Soldier move. It was too fast for Tony to even react but his wings shot out in his fright and shock. There was a flash of silver and grey eyes before Tony found himself being picked up from his bed but two strong hands gripping him under the arms like you would do for a small child.

Before he know what was happening, Tony found himself facing the wall and with his left wing in Winter’s hands as he combed through his feathers to detangle and clean them as best he could, copying what Tony had done to the insides. Tony didn’t dare move from the spot, especially when the Soldier gave a warning pull at his feathers when he started to struggle.

What was strange (other than Winter’s odd and sudden actions) was that as the Soldier threaded his fingers through his feathers Tony didn’t feel any intimate violation like he felt with the Soldier touching the insides of his wings. Flesh and metal fingers grooming his outside wings, Tony couldn’t help but feel relaxed, the grooming of his wings by the hands of another person was like getting a massage; the stress and tenseness melting out of his shoulders more and more as Winter kept cleaning his feathers, eliminating all the torture and horror that had happened over the last god knows how many days.

As Winter groomed his wings, silently happy to be able to touch the soft feathers all he wants, Tony silently thought about what he’d found out about his feathers and the different reactions with them. It didn’t take a genius to figure that the insides of his wings were more sensitive than the outsides. He guessed that to allow someone to touch the insides of his wings would be like foreplay before sex, a sensitive area that could either be extremely painful or extremely sexual. The outside of his wings were not sexual, if something along the lines of someone brushing his hair for him at the least.

If anything, Tony was just glad that the sensitive part of his wings were on the inside instead of on the outside.

Now, Tony only hoped that Winter wouldn’t report his discoveries of his sensitive wings and instead keep it to himself but, deep down, Tony knew that if he was asked, Winter wouldn’t hesitate to report his findings to the douche that brainwashed him…

He just really hoped that wouldn’t happen…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little boring but I just wanted to explain more about his wings and stuff.  
> Will update soon!


End file.
